


Book of Answers

by LovableKillerWhale



Series: Chronicles of Cresalia [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Dragon society, Dragons, Gen, Original Mythology, Original Universe, POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-03 22:10:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12757152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovableKillerWhale/pseuds/LovableKillerWhale
Summary: "Our fates are written in the stars; they may twist and turn, interweave, even join. But we choose our paths ourselves, and that's what matters most."The Oracle, who claims to be the voice of the gods, sees the future of Cresalia, the land of dragons, full of blood and suffering. Danger circles above the dragon kingdoms like vultures, and storms are approaching.Follow the story of Talnateg, a young orphaned hatchling, who is marked by the gods and caught in the jaws of fate, all alone. He has no parents, no home and his only family is gone. A barrier in his mind blocks the memories of his past, and he is desperate to remember. Ancient myths say that the Book of Answers holds every secret of the world. Could it solve Talnateg's problem? The book is hidden and no one knows where it is, but Talnateg is determined to seek the truth. He is on his own and it seems the mysterious King Aegamorn is on his trail...





	1. Storm

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work in progress, peeps! Idk how many chapters will I post here to be honest...  
> Anyways, enjoy!

Thunder roared and lightning cracked, night was settling in the town perched on the top of a mountain that went by the same name. The town of Farilth was experiencing one of the worst storms in years. In fact, the last storm of this strength and fury rolled through the town way back, when the moon Gardanta had its eclipse - seven years ago. 

Every soul with a fraction of common sense has hid inside their den, every door was closed. The streets were empty and dark like a void, only the steady pounding of heavy rain drops interrupted the dead silence with their rythmic, regular clink-clank against the tiles of roofs and smooth stones of pathways. That, and occasional streaks of lightning accompanied by echoing thunder. 

The gates of the town were closed, but the guards were stiffly standing at their posts, their armour shining when the lightning striked. They were soaked and sleepy, cold and moody from the constant rain. 

Not even their dragon ears could hear much past the rain and wind. Not even their dragon eyes could see too far into the storm, through the foggy night and heavy gale. Not even the guards could spot the flying figure quickly approaching the town.

The swooping dragon made no sound, steadily gliding over the city walls, over the heads of the guards, and landed on the other side, in a dark alley.

Lightning cracked, and for a moment, light hit the stranger. He was clothed head-to-toe in black fabric: every piece of his body was covered. A dark cloak was draped over his shoulders, his legs were slipped in gauntlets. His wings and tail were carefully covered in raven feathers, and a hood fell in his face.

Once the thunder boomed and the light faded, he shook off the water that settled on his back, the fabric seemingly water-proof. He peeked outside of the alley, his gaze darting left and right, making sure no one was out here afterall.

When he was sure no one was crazy enough to set a foot outside, he walked out of the alley and through the streets. Every door and window was closed shut as he made his way across the town. 

He stopped on a crossroad, and reached over to the satchel that was sitting on his back. Inside, among other things, was the very reason he came here this stormy night. He stroked the two bundles, so small and fragile, yet so important.

He sighed and grabbed a scroll of parchment laying a top of the bundles. It was already soaked, because he has used it this night already. Careful not to rip the precious paper with his sharp claws, he opened it.

It was dark and even his strong sense of vision couldn't make out the words and lines. So he nervously took a risk: he breathed fire through his mouth, keeping the flame low and small, just enough to see the lines of the map that was drawn on the parchment. He was closer than he thought. Just a couple of turns left...

He was so focused the parchment caught the flame. The rain almost instantly doused the fire, but the scorch marks remained and the lines became indecipherable. Cursing silently, he scrunched up the paper into a ball and shoved in a pocket of his cloak.

He continued his stroll through the night, only the pounding of the rain keeping him company. The rain drops broke against the pavement, creating a soothing noise.

This seemingly peaceful beat (when not cut by thunder) was interrupted by a very clear, creaky sound: scraping of claws against the roof tiles. An annoying, loud noise, silenced by the fall of the rain.

The cloaked stranger flinched in surprise, his hood jumping up, revealing for a split second a part of his face: his scales were strikingly gold like coins. When the hood settled again, he glanced up in annoyance.

"Careful there, it's slippery!" a feminine voice called, disappearing in the buzzing of the gale.

"I know!" another voice responded, trembling with either excitement or cold.

A clawed paw with three scaled fingers reached over the top of an oblique roof top, scraping against the clay tiles and creating the shrieking sound.

The stranger slowly backed away, as if trying to melt with the shadows of the houses looming above.

The noise reached maximum when the grip of the paw tightened as the dragon pulled its body over the top, bending in the waist to adjust to the sharp crook of the roof and stay steady at the top.

First appeared a spiky reptilian head, then broad yellow shoulders, ending with two large leathery wings, spreading like umbrellas to mantain balance of the being.

Supported and confident, the dragon whipped its head around to glance behind itself. A mischievious smile crept on its face, resulting in a toothy grin.

"You guys coming, or what?" he roared, shooking his head against the rain, "Are you afraid of some harmless water falling out of the sky?"

Another clawed foot reached over the roof and hooked around the top, and in seconds a similar creature, this one purple, joined the well-balanced perching.

"It's not the water I'm worried about," she spoke, its voice matching the one that called out before, "The lightning isn't harmless."

The yellow beast, a rather small and athletic dragon, rolled his eyes. "I was born in a storm, I ain't afraid of one." he replied, his voice raspy, but clearly masculine.

The female dragon glared. "Not all of us are as fascinated as you are," she growled, "and not all of us are willing to get struck out of the sky for... how did you call it? 'The rush of excitement in your heart'?"

The yellow dragon chuckled. "Exactly! How can you live without risking every once in a while? Flying "

Another body got thrown over the roof, scratching at the tiles for support. A black dragoness jumped up in the air and tried to land beside her companions, but failed the landing. She slipped on the tiles, and with a panicked shriek, flew over the edge of the roof.

All this time, the stranger slowly made his way away from the dragons, walking carefully not to make a sound and to avoid detection. But right when he was about to creep out of sight, another body crashed into his.

Surprised, he fell down, the black dragoness bouncing off of his back. She roared in fear, surely unaware of him being below her all this time. He stood up. In panic, he opened his satchel, frantically touching the bundles from all angles. If something had happened to them... sighing in relief, he closed up the satchel again and prepared to run away.

But in his way now stood the yellow dragon, looking both terrified and determined. The stranger glanced behind himself, finding out that behind him was the purple dragoness and a new blue dragon, that had to be a part of this group. On the ground next to him crouched the black dragoness that had fallen on him.

He growled in frustration: "Fine, you got me. I have no interest in hurting you. Just step aside, and I'll be on my way." His voice was deep but quiet, almost disappearing in the rain. 

The yellow dragon stuttered. "H-how are we supposed to b-believe you?!" He looked very uncomfortable, and afraid.

The stranger tilted his head. "You don't have to believe me, but I promise I won't hurt you."

"We can't let you go!" the blue dragon spoke up. When the stranger looked his way, he almost shrank. He tucked his tail between his legs. "You could be a thief, or a murderer, or worse!" he added, more quietly.

"Look, if I were a murderer, I would have killed by now." the stranger said, getting impatient. The more time he spent in this rain, the bigger was the chance that he would fail his job and fail... them.

The black dragoness still lying on her side squeaked out: "I'll go get the guards..."

"No, don't!" the stranger yelled. 

"You're just kids..." he suddenly realised, "you should go home."

"I won't sleep tonight knowing we let you go like nothing happened." the purple dragoness managed to get out.

"But that's it. Nothing happened. I didn't kill anyone, or steal anything, please..." desperation leaked out of his voice.

"Go home." he repeated, and suddenly got an urge to protect these youngsters. " Go home and don't do this again. Don't try to fly in the storm. You could get seriously hurt. Lightning can burn you to a crisp."

After what seemed like hours, the yellow dragon, probably the leader of the group, gave in. 

"Okay... we'll go home. We won't do this again. Please, mister, don't hurt us."

"I have no interest in hurting helpless youngsters like you. You're good kids." he said, relief flooding over him. 

He watched as the five young dragons ran past him as quickly as they could. He took a deep sigh, the feathers on his wings trembling. Without the map, he couldn't be too sure...

On the next corner, he turned to the right and there...

There stood the building he was looking for. Tall and grey, its back practically growing out of the mountain side behind it. Another lightning flashed, and the flash of bright light showed the letters engraved in the stone that made the front of the building.

'Soleyn's Home for Orphaned Hatchlings'

He patted the satchel, feelings overflowing him. Seven years. For long seven years he had been fulfilling the will of the gods. And now, his work was coming to an end. He has finished his part on the gods' chessboard.

He continued stroking the satchel as memories filled his mind. He has spent so much time... too much. And it would finally end now.

The constant stress and worry, the constant magical procedures he had to do in order to keep everything how it should be. All the affection he has given... All the tears as the years went on, all the grieving after what could have been... and what was not.

He gritted his teeth. He wanted all these feelings gone this instant! So why was it so hard to let go? To leave the satchel on the stairs and leave? Why?

He knew why. He cared about them. He cared about them so much. But he had to let go.

And he also knew that these feelings... he shouldn't feel them, and they weren't entirely his own. He couldn't blame her, however. It was her instinct, no, it was her love for every living being. He was greatly influenced, but he didn't mind. He only minded that he had to let go.

Against his own will, he climbed the stairs. He opened the bag and very carefully picked up the two warm bundles. Just in case, he unwrapped the fabric around one of them. The surface of the white object inside was smooth and shiny.

He softly traced it with his fingers, looking for possible cracks, black spots, anything. But there was nothing, just like the day brfore, and the day he first laid his eyes on it. Still, relief settled in his chest.

He curled the blanket around the object again, and moved to the other one. He unwrapped the woolen fabric, and... the smooth, pale orange surface was almost perfect. Except for the tiniest scratch a top of the object. 

Instantly worried, he examined the tiny ridge. It barely disturbed the surface, and surely it would have no effect on... the inside. Sighing again, he wrapped up this one aswell. He settled them next to each other in front of the stone door. 

All he had to do now was knock. The large, stone doorknocker in the shape of a serpent in coils, the symbol of the Towhir region, glared at him with its dead stone eyes.

Not a nice way to introduce young children to their new home.

Nevertheless, he reached up and grabbed the knocker. His arm was trembling. He had to do it. He had to do it now, or never.

He took a deep breath.

He knocked.

One, two, three loud bangs that could wake up the whole orphanage even through the storm.

He was sure someone would come soon. He spared the bundles one last glance.

"Good luck, the last Taygherrs." he whispered.

He backed down the stairs, stepping quickly. Fortunately he didn't slip on the wet stairs. He turned and spread his wings, ready to go. 

He glanced back once more, just as the door opened with a creak. Sudden light hit his eyes and he quickly took off, out of the light, out of the town, out of their lives. 

He knew their lives won't be easy.

He knew someone was still out there, on the lookout.

He knew their story may not end happily.

If he could do something, he would.

But he wasn't in the right.

All he could do was watch from a far.

And pray.

Pray to the gods.


	2. Orphanage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter! 
> 
> To make it clear, the first part is meant to be numb and possibly depressing.
> 
> If you spot any mistakes, please tell me!
> 
> I may take a beta/proof reader/editor, if anyone would be willing. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

All he could do was sleep and eat. He had everything he needed: a warm motherly heat from his caretaker, a soft spot to curl up on, feeding every few hours. He should be satisfied. But he was not.  
He may have had what he needed, but he didn't have what he wanted.   
His absolute number one on his list of things he desired was the very being who accompanied him since hatching: his sister.  
But she was seperated from him. His caretaker said it was better for both of them. He didn't complain, however. He was wary of the toothy, scaled monsters he was one of. He had turned his gaze to the ground each time they spared him a curious glance. He has hidden behind his caretaker each time they came to look at him and got too close.  
But he didn't complain.  
At the moment, his mind was blank. Empty, silent buzzing always present in the back of his mind. He had tried disturbing it on occassion, but it only resulted in a distorted wave of sound hitting at his ear drums.  
It was crazy to think it had only been about a week since he and his sister hatched. She hatched first. It took him more time to break the shell of his egg than her. He was so tired. He almost managed to wriggle out of the shell, but his hind legs were still stuck. Then they helped him.  
They broke the shell and gently picked the fractured pieces off of him, even if his scales were too thick for the sharp edge of the glass-like shards to hurt him. They licked his body and got his blood to flow. They fed him meat right upon opening his eyes. Then he slept.  
And slept, and slept. Sleeping and eating. He slept more than he stayed awake. It took so much effort to open his eyes and let them stay like that for more than a few hours. They said his eyes were green, like the grass. He has never seen 'the grass'. They told him he would once he was old enough. He wasn't yet.  
They fed him every few hours. The scent of food was enough to force his eyes and maw open on his own without the need of them to wake him up. He always ate everything they brought. Mostly mice, he noticed. They were already dead when they dropped them in his waiting mouth. Not that he complained. He didn't complain.  
He didn't talk at all. He never said 'good morning' or greetings to his caretaker, or any of his visitors. They said he was so tiny and quiet, it almost scared them. They said he was a wonderful shade of orange with a coal stripe across his eyes. They said he was handsome.  
He didn't agree. He didn't respond. He didn't talk.  
The only time he spoke was when professor Zirolisa paid him a visit. He remembered the first time she entered his 'room' - a small cavern with light flowing in through a hole at the top and the light of the torches they lit up witht the fire they breathed. From what he's heard, the whole place looks similar.  
He called it the Den. Okay, it wasn't called the Den, but 'Soleyn's home for orphaned hatchlings' is too long in the first place. He didn't want to call it the Orphanage either. He heard them talk about other hatchlings like him staying here, he even saw them when they peeked at him from across the corridor and scattered away. So the Den it was.  
He should probably specify, his caretaker was the owner and director of the Den herself, Soleyn. As the director, she shouldn't take care of any hatchlings by herself, but she told him that he sort of latched onto her the moment he opened his eyes. Perhaps there was more to her fondness, but he didn't mind. She was one of them.  
Her assistant took over the Den for now. He has seen him once, a grey noble beast. In fact, he was Soleyn's husband, if he understood correctly. He was also one of them. Everyone here was, because he didn't know anyone else. The ones who helped him at hatching, the ones who visited him from time to time, the other caretakers, the professor. They were all so kind to him.  
He had no reason to feel wary or scared of them. He had no reason to try to look small as he could. He had no reason not to talk. Afterall, they were the ones who kept him alive, the ones who fed him, kept him warm, spoke of him fondly. He should feel safe.  
But he didn't.  
He often eyed the hole carved into the ceiling. It was small, but he figured he would fit through easily. He dreamed of the outside world. Right now, his world consisted of grey walls and a square of blue sky letting in beams of sunlight, sometimes covered by white fluffy clouds.  
Sometimes he wanted to jump on Soleyn's head, spread his wings and fly right outside. He has seen dragons flying over the hole, just a dark shadow blocking the light for a split second. He wondered when would he be ready to fly himself. His wings were too small and delicate, he had to grow first. Someday he'll be ready.  
On the other side of the room, there was a gateway without any gates, always opened and lighted by torches. They were blew out when the sky turned dark, but the corridor on the other side was always lightened by crystals placed in lanterns.  
He could always make his way through the corridor and see what's outside. It would only take a couple of steps. Soleyn would probably mind, but he could always try when she fell asleep. He may have slept more than her, but she definitely slept heavier. It would only take a few seconds to run into the corridor and... see.  
But he never did it. It wasn't in his nature to bend or break the rules. He didn't know if it was allowed or not, but he didn't want to risk getting in trouble.  
He was fine with where he was. And he didn't complain.  
They visited him from time to time. Parts of the staff - other caretakers, the cleaners, the gaurds; the hatchlings, and even other dragons who didn't seem to bare the stale scent of the Den, they must have come from the outside. But his sense of smell was rather weak for now, so he couldn't be sure.  
They meant no harm, they just wanted to see him. They were curious. They either poked their head into the corridor and watched him from afar, or walked over to him and Soleyn. Some of them talked to Soleyn. Some of them talked to him. Some of them fed him. But they never touched him.  
The only touch he enjoyed was from Soleyn, when she brushed against his side, when she licked him between her paws, when they cuddled together for the night. Only one other dragon has touched him.  
It was the professor. She was tall, athletic, with long legs and neck, a complete opposite of bulky Soleyn with her tough shell and stubby legs and tail. Her shining scales were white, or perhaps pale gray, with a pearly glow. She always wore a pair of spectacles perched on the bridge of her snout, making her large brown eyes even bigger. On her shoulders was a white piece of cloth with a banner with a strange symbol, a couple of badges, and a name tag.  
Apparently, she was there at his hatching aswell, and made sure he was healthy. He didn't remember that. But then she visited him again.

  
                                  * * *

It was the third day of his stay at the Den. He was just taking a quick nap. The time of feeding would come soon, and he wanted to be awake so that he could sleep more after the meal.  
When he heard footsteps, he perked up and fixed his gaze on the entrance. To his disappointment, the tall dragoness who just walked in did not carry any food with her. His sense of smell wasn't developed for identifying such scents yet.  
She approached him and Soleyn, and on instinct, he jumped over his care taker's tough shell and hid behind her.  
Unlike other visitors and spectators, she didn't laugh, or giggle, or aww, for which he was eternally grateful. Instead of making him feel embarassed, her calm aura was enough for him to feel comfortable.  
"Greetings, Misses Riggali. Greetings, youngling." she spoke, her voice quiet and professional.  
"Professor Perrat!" Soleyn greeted her, getting up. "You came to check on our young one here? Didn't expect you so early."  
"I wanted to catch him before he would fall to slumber upon eating, I know hatchlings. Hopefully you can forgive me for disturbing you."  
She directed her gaze on him, and for once, he didn't turn away. Truly, the professor caught his attention.  
"I am professor Zirolisa Perrat. I just want to run some tests, make sure everything is how it should be, hopefully bring out some memories locked away in your mind."  
He only nodded, eyes meeting with hers. They were hidden behind a pair of glasses, making her gaze cloudy.  
"I would appreciate if you came over here, young one. I can always come back tomorrow, if you're not feeling up to it."  
To his own surprise, he climbed over Soleyn's back again and padded towards her.  
"Very good." she praised him, and he liked her a tiny bit more.  
Upon close examination, he noticed the white banner draped over her shoulders, featuring a strange symbol he has never seen before. Clipped on the banner was also a name tag.  
Somehow, in his mind, he understood the letters and could read the golden words engraved in it: 'PROF. ZIROLISA PERRAT'  
He probably mouthed the words silently, because the professor suddenly asked him: "Can you speak?"  
Again, to his own surprise, he replied: "Y-yes."   
Huh, that was strange. How come he could read and speak in a language so naturally, as if it was always a part of him, without having to learn said language?  
Soleyn seemed equally surprised.  
He could see the professor's eyes widen in a pleasant surprise. "That's very good. It gives us a clue about your backround. It seems you are a smart one, too."  
He practically bathed in the praise. Suddenly, he wanted to speak more, get more nice words out of her. So he patiently waited for the next question.  
"How are you feeling?" she asked, and eyed him, probably checking the condition he was in.  
"I feel alright." he told her, truthfully.  
Instead of commending him again, she turned around and reached over somewhere to her back. Only now, he noticed the white leather satchel around her waist.  
She opened it with a bite of her mouth, as she couldn't reach it with her paws. Out of it, she pulled out a notebook with a leather case and a... feather? No, it was a quill and a bottle of ink. Once again, he hasn't seen the objects before, but he simply knew what they were called.  
Turning back to him, she fixed the glasses on her nose, sat down and uncapped the bottle of ink. Then she picked up the quill, dipped it in, and started scribbling something into the notebook.  
When she was done, she finally looked at him.  
"So," she began, "I'm sure you yourself are tired of being called 'youngling'. And since picking out a name for you by ourselves would be our last resort, I have to ask you to try and remember."  
This derailed him. How could he know his own name? The same way he knew the alphabet, the same way he knew so many, yet so little words?  
"I... I don't..." he began, but she quickly cut him off.  
"Relax. It's alright. You don't have to remember right away. We can always try again. Besides, I'm sure Soleyn has some pretty names in mind for you already."  
To this, Soleyn giggled. "I sure do. You look like a Troogir to me-"  
"Absolutely not!" he blurted out with laughter creeping into his voice.  
Soleyn snorted some more, and he could hear the scribbling of the quill behind him.  
"If you just wrote that down as my name, you better cross it right out." he mumbled quietly, but they probably both heard him with their great hearing.  
Sure enough, the professor replied: "No worries, young one. I can already tell misses Soleyn has terrible taste, no offense."  
"Offense taken." Soleyn grumbled, her leaf-like spurs trembling.  
"I mean," the professor drawled out, and bent over to him, "I'm not sure if she designed this place, but it could surely use some decorations. Maybe some more colors. Potted plants. Stuff like that."  
"I can always decorate it with trophy horns of nosy, offensive professors." Soleyn threatened grumpily. The professor didn't seem phased by the threat at all.   
"To be honest," he spoke up, grinning at the professor looming over him, "it sure gets depressing after a while. All the boring gray."  
"What have you done." Soleyn asked, or stated, terror seeping from her eyes. "Are you turning the poor, naïve child against me?!"  
"Maybe."  
Soleyn frowned, but didn't respond in any other way.  
"Now, with the theme of the poor enviroment these poor orphans have to live in out of the way, I would like to get back to the tests."  
"If you weren't my friend, I would kick you out."  
"Noted." as on queue, the professor wrote something down. With the notebook upside down, it took some effort, but he was able to understand what it said: 'Note: Don't ruffle the director's feathers (leaves)'  
Thankfully, Soleyn didn't seem to notice. The professor winked at him. He liked her more and more.  
"Now, child. Since you don't seem to remember your name, I have to run some more tests in the aspect of your memory." she began, instantly turning from humorous to serious and professional.  
"If you don't mind me asking," he asked quickly, "why should I be able to remember... anything?"  
"I was wondering when would you ask that." the professor declared, her eyes meeting his once again. "How do I explain..."   
"You don't have to-"  
"But I want to." she said.  
"When an egg is laid, the baby inside starts developing. With proper care, it can hatch in a few months. Sometimes it takes more. Eggs that are uncared for can last for up to a year before dying. During the time the baby develops, it starts to sense its surroundings." she started, looking at him expectantly, as if he would remember upon hearing this.  
"The baby can hear things, and fix them in its brain unknowingly. That's why parents often repeat the name they picked for the hatchling to the egg. Repeating certain phrases makes them easier to remember. That's one of the reasons why babies can speak at such a young age. That's why you know certain objects. That's why you should be able to remember key information, like your name."  
Her expression shifted.  
"This may not mean anything, but... if you don't remember in the near future, I'm afraid it's a direct clue that your parents abandoned you and your sister at a very young age."  
Oh, he completely forgot about his sister!   
"My sister!" he choked out, feeling guilty for forgetting about her at that very noment. He didn't remember much of her, but... he missed her.  
The professor gave him a sympathetic look and an encouraging smile.   
"Don't worry, she's doing just as fine as you. You will meet again soon, promise."  
He felt relief flood over him. However, it looked like something bothered her, even if she didn't openly show it.  
He made a mental note to ask her about it later.  
The professor wrote down some notes from their conversation and pouted at the paper.   
She sighed, and said: "It seems you are mentally more developed than most hatchlings, based on the time you've hatched. That implies that you spent a lot of time in your egg... Possibly more than a few years."  
"Is that bad?" he asked, curious for her expression.  
"No, no!" she replied quickly. Too quickly. "That's not what troubles me."  
He gulped.  
"Then what is it?"  
"Maybe next time, okay?" she asked him, as she fiddled with the notebook with her claws.  
He had no objection, nor complained.  
"I'll just check your condition and I'll be on my way for today."  
"So soon?" he whined, probably sounding like a spoiled brat that was denied a treat.  
"You need to sleep and eat." she said blankly.  
His body chose that very moment to take away his control and yawn against his will.  
The professor smiled. "That's what I'm talking about. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to examine you."  
He just shrugged as she approached him. She spread his wings and checked the membranes. She stretched his legs and took a close look at the joints. She opened his mouth and tried the sharpness of his teeth.  
Sometime mid-way through the examination, the food service arrived. They watched as the professor wrote down notes about his health into the notebook.   
After what seemed like an eternity of drooling over the delicious scent of the food, the professor closed her notebook and returned it to her satchel along with the quill and ink.   
"Now you may eat" she said and with a wave of her tail she motioned to the feeder to come closer.  
"If you don't mind, I'd like to share a word or two with Mrs. Riggali," she spoke, and walked over to Soleyn, who was silent the whole time. So silent that he forgot she was even there.  
Instead, he turned his focus to the mouse now dangling in front of his face. Without thinking, he clamped his jaws around it and swallowed without chewing properly.  
Soleyn would probably scold him for being greedy and possibly choking himself to death at the age of three days, (he was hungrier than he thought he was) but she was too distracted by talking to professor Perrat to notice.  
As he reached for the second mouse, he tried to listen to the silent conversation the two females were having in the corner of the room. He didn't catch everything, but he deciphered some words.  
"Impressive, you got him to talk. I was starting to worry he was mute."  
"It's not that unusual for orphaned hatchlings. He may have had some bad experience in the past he might not remember, but..."  
Mumble, mumble...  
"Exactly. It's really strange, honestly."  
"I noticed the coloring around his eyes, surely..."  
Mumble, mumble...  
"I hope not... I'm scared of what could happen if your suspicions were proved correct."  
"It's just a guess, you can never be sure."  
"I worry for him, and his sister aswell. Mainly for her, it seems so evident..."  
Mumble, mumble...  
"He sure got a lot to learn."  
With that, and four mice stuffed in his stomach, his mind couldn't bare to be awake for much longer. When his eyes fluttered, he said a silent 'thank you' and began to make his way to Soleyn.  
The two dragonesses stopped talking immediatly. The professor gave him a reassuring smile.  
"Well, it's time for me to go. While I'm gone, try to remember something, alright?"  
He sleepily nodded and collapsed next to Soleyn, who gently licked the top of his head.  
His eyes closed. He could hear an exchange of goodbyes, two sets of footsteps making their way into the corridor, and the buzzing in his mind.  
It toned down a lot, it was bearable now.  
Bearable enough for him to fall asleep seconds after setting his head on the soft bedding he laid on.  
With the professor in his life now, even life seemed more bearable.

  
                                  * * *

  
On the seventh day came the breakthrough. The professor claimed he was growing naturally and was completely healthy.  
He still only talked to her and no one else. She was different. They understood each other.  
He's learnt to identify her scent, and he knew when she was coming. He slept less, aswell, so no one had to wake him up.  
The meeting started as always. He caught her scent and excitedly headed to the entrance. When she came, he leaped with a battle cry, and crashed into her chest in an attempt to scare her.  
It never worked, but she laughed, and he loved it when she laughed.  
Some time throughout the fifth day, they switched around the examination and attempts to bring back some memories to make things easier and organised.  
He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to remember, so badly. He wanted to make her proud.  
And when she asked him the usual phrase, "What's your name?", he replied.  
"Talnateg Alhowenter."  
The name slipped into his mind and gave him a split second to grasp it before it would disappear again. Just like that, it was gone, but his words echoed in his ears.  
He could see professor's smile drop, and confusion washed over him. Did he do it wrong? If she wasn't white already, he would say she paled even more.  
He glanced over at Soleyn, who's face wore a terrified expression.  
"What was that?" the professor asked in a controlled, demanding voice, slightly trembling.  
He gulped.  
"T-talnateg... Alhowenter..."   
He could feel himself shrinking down under their scared faces. Were they scared... of him?  
"Talnateg." finally, the professor breathed, "me and misses Riggali need to talk. Now."  
He nodded, and trotted over to the furthest and darkest corner of the room. The professor strode to Soleyn, still managing to look elegant. Her scales shone when she crossed the square of sunlight in the middle of the room. He sat down, and started counting cracks in the wall in a poor attempt to distract himself from listening to the hushed voices. He tried to ignore them, he did, but he still caught sentences here and there.

"This can't be happening..."  
"Relax, it may be a coincidence."  
"You were right. You were right all along."  
"Calm down, please. We can never be sure..."  
He considered bashing his head against the wall, but that would probably bring back the oh-so-familiar buzzing, which had now retreated so much he had to focus to notice it.  
After what seemed like hours, both dragonesses in the room turned to him. The professor must have pulled out her notebook at some point, because she held the quill in her paw.  
The professor spoke first.  
"Talnateg... Do you like your name?"  
"It seems too long," he admitted truthfully. The professor's eyes narrowed in understanding.  
"Ah. Shortening names isn't that uncommon - even I myself prefer to be called 'Lisa' over Zirolisa," she said, toying with her name tag.  
"What would you like to be called, then?"  
"I don't know..."  
Suddenly, Soleyn spoke up.  
"What about Talne?"  
His eyes lightened. Talne sounded nice. He could live with that!  
"Yeah, I like that." he told them.  
"Alright then, Talne it is."  
He took a moment to let the name roll around in his mind and let it get used to. Talne, Talne, Talne. It was short, but effective.  
The professor smiled him.  
"Hey, you know what?"  
"What?"  
"I think it's time we introduce you to your sister."

  
                                  * * *

Talne practically bounced all the way through the corridor. He was so excited to finally meet his sister properly!  
The professor fell behind and Soleyn led the way. He walked right behind her and had to restrain himself so that he wouldn't start running.  
The main corridor was lightened by crystals of all colors: blue, pink, green, yellow... it seemed that only red was missing. The crystals were sitting in glass lanterns, the dragon-made glass dimmed the light to a soft shade.  
There was no light from the outside, so Talne couldn't be sure if it was night or day. Judging by the fact that he was wide awake and full of energy, he quessed it was day.  
When he glanced back, he could see a wooden sign hanging from a torch, with Soleyn's name on it. It was right in front of the thin corridor they came from.  
He tried to read all of the name tags hanging off of torches. They went by fast and he only caught some of them: Andrakar, Chansa, Laadin, Melahopeh, Vanellai, Zoslana...  
He didn't look where he was going.  
A bright orange flash caught his eyes, before his body collided with someone else's and he got knockes off of his feet. They both crashed to the ground in a bright orange mess.  
Talne groaned and glanced at the dragon that crashed into him. He was a small... ball? No, the dragon was covered in bright orange feathers, and they were sticking out in all angles. His face consisted of a pair of huge, dark green eyes and a golden beak.  
The dragon shook itself and while some of the feathers flattened, some fell off right on the ground, leaving a mess. With a scoff, the hatchling picked himself up and without an apology continued to run.  
"I will remember that!" Soleyn yelled after him, then turned to Talne, who was still sprawled on the ground.  
"Sweetie, are you okay?" she asked, her voice kind and soft.  
Just as he wanted to tell her that he was fine, just phased, another voice rang out: "NO RUNNING IN THE HALLWAY!"   
From around the corner came a rather short and stubby dragon, panting and limping over to the group.  
"Where did the little brat go?!" he hissed, his brown-scaled face getting a red tint. Smoke erupted from the slits of his nostrils and a low growl escaped his throat.  
Soleyn flattened her ears and spoke in a calm voice: "Mister Degoras, this is the last time I'll remind you to be nice to the children. As for little Norsall, he will be punished later, let him be."  
Degoras, still furiously fuming, just mumbled a quick apology and creeped somewhere down the hallway out of their sight.  
Talne picked himself off of the ground.  
"Punished?" he asked, both curious and scared at the same time.  
It was the professor who spoke up: "Don't worry, there are no physical punishments here. He will just have to write down some stuff or help in the kitchens or something similar."  
Nodding in relief, and his head full of the feathery hatchling, he didn't even notice Soleyn stopped. He almost crashed into her.  
Soleyn stopped at one of the many corridors. Strangely, this one had a door. Talne wondered why. He squinted at the label shimmering in the glow of a nearby blue crystal.   
His focus was interrupted when the professor landed her paw on his back. Despite knowing it was her, he flinched. He raised his head to look at her.  
"Talne. Get ready to meet your sister." she said, her gaze fixed on him. Her expression was calm and calculating, professional. She was smiling, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.  
He simply nodded. Soleyn pushed the door open with her head, then stepped to the side, clearly letting Talne go in first. And so he did.  
Little did he know that the collision in the hallway wouldn't be the last time he fell to the ground that day.  
Eager, he walked through the corridor. There was light entering this room aswell. Right in the middle of the square of light was sleeping an adult dragoness.   
Her eyes were closed and underneath them were black circles.  
Before Talne could wonder why, something barreled into him from the side. Taken by surprise, he yelped a little.   
Before he knew it, a set of tiny clawed feet pushed into his chest and held him pinned to the ground.  
Above him was the disaster causing all of this, a grinning white face rimmed with coal stripes, with baby blue eyes shining like two tiny stars.  
His sister was atop of him, clearly taking no notice of Soleyn quickly rushing over and her own caretaker waking up in confusion.  
She just kept on grinning, swishing her tail left and right, and staying on him. That part was important.  
She opened her mouth to say something, but her caretaker spoke first.  
"We talked about this!" she stammered, her tone firm, but kind. If Talne's sister looked uncomfortable, she didn't show it. If he were in her place, Talne would have already apologised for whatever he has done.  
But her? She didn't seem bothered at all. In fact, she kept holding onto him like a leech.  
"You cannot just pounce on others like that," the caretaker continued, now gently nudging the small female with her head. "It's not nice, and definitely not an acceptal behaviour in public."  
She finally, finally stepped off of him. Talne sighted in relief and got back on his feet. He shook to take off all the dust that could be stuck between his scales. When he was finished, he noticed the two giant blue eyes travelling up and down his body, sizing him up.  
He decided it was the proper time to introduce himself.   
"Hi." he started, his voice small. "I, uh, I'm not sure if you remember me, it was all kinda blurry, but I'm your brother."  
She just blinked at him.  
"And, uh... my name is Talne."  
Her eyes widened. Then her mouth turned into a grin.  
"That... is... so... COOL!" she suddenly squeaked out, making Talne flinch. In a second she was all over his face, an avalanche of words piling up on him.  
"I don't know my name because I cannot remember it, but I will, I swear, I know I'm very close! It's so nice to meet you, Talne! I can't believe I have a small brother! You look great by the way, your eyes are so huge! You don't look like to much fun though, but I can easily fix that, no problem! Come play with me, I am sooo bored! Have you heard, we'll soon meet other hatchlings here and we can all be friends and-"  
She truly seemed like an unstoppable monster.  
She almost terrified him... How could they, two siblings, be such polar opposites? Literally everything about them was different.  
Finally, the professor ended his suffering and interrupted his sister impatiently.  
"Thats enough, young one, you can run your mouth off later. Now, we need to talk and see if you've remembered anything."  
"Oooh, alright," she said, then her mouth clamped shut, and she closed her eyes in focus. Talne used the oppurtunity and hid behind Soleyn's turtle-like shell.  
When his sister opened her eyes again, she just shook her head.  
"Nope," she told them, popping the P, "not a single trace of memory."  
The professor sighed, and wrote something down into her notebook.  
"I thought Talne could bring back some memories, but..." she sighed again, "turns out I was wrong."  
Talne's sister just shrugged, and looked around the room.  
"Where did my little brother go? I wanted to get to know him."  
Silent anger bubbling in his chest, Talne emerged from behind Soleyn with a rather annoyed look. "I'm not litte. Atleast not compared to you."  
She just scoffed. "Come on, if I remember something, it's you stuck in your egg shell needing help to get out."  
Talne stiffened.   
His sister continued rambling: "Yeah, and I heard people thought you were mute and always scared of everyone! That you always hid behind others , that sort of thing-"  
Talne silently prayed for her to stop, while Soleyn was trying to find the right moment to interrupt the flow of words.  
"...and that you never looked into other's eyes-"  
He had enough.  
"SHUT UP, BELHA!" he screeched, growling at her.   
Silence. Terrible, long silence.  
Unbelief written all over their faces.  
"That..." his sister stuttered, "that IS my name... I remember now..."  
More silence.  
The professor was the first one to break it.  
"And your surname?" she asked her.  
"Alhowenter." both siblings breathed out at the same time.  
They shared a look, and for the first time, his sister, Belha, looked apologetic.  
"Talne... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I just thought- no, I didn't think at all. I'm sorry for pouncing on you, too." she said, looking at the ground.  
"And I'm sorry for snapping at you." Talne spoke up, and walked over to her. He nudged her, and she finally looked at him.  
"It's fine, brother." she told him, and pulled him into a hug. Surprised, he stumbled, and pushed his weight into her.  
All the other dragons in the room watched in silence, not wanting to interrupt the moment.  
He hugged her back, and smiled.  
He finally had something to call a family.  
It really was fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meet Talne's hyperactive insensitive sister, Belha!
> 
> Also, is this spacing alright? Or should I edit it like the first one? Let me know!
> 
> If you wanna see how the characters are supposed to look like, comment and I'll lead you to my DeviantArt with their refference Sheets! ^^
> 
> Every comment/hit/kudos/bookmark is highly appreciated!
> 
> See ya (possibly) next week! The pace should pick up from here!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this preview! Further chapters will be atleast twice as long. I have no schedule for updating.  
> See ya soon!


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